Corroded Gold
by Voltra the Lively
Summary: Where can you run when the world is your enemy's oyster?


It was early morning in the palace of Hyrule. The young princess rises early and prepares for the day. She washes her face, brushes her teeth, and dresses into her proper attire. However she leaves her hair unattended and messy. She hasn't mastered braiding her hair yet, not to mention Lady Nayru brushes her hair so nicely.

She taps down the hallway in her new shoes. The princess almost stops in front of a barely touched door before moving on. She misses Impa terribly but Lady Nayru said she was training recruits in Kakariko Village and did not want her belongings touched while she was away. A reasonable request but it still pained the young girl. Not enough to stop her from knocking on the Lady's door but still a pain nonetheless.

"Just a moment." Echoes from within. The princess waits patiently for a minute before the lock is undone. She takes this cue and walks inside, giving a little gasp of wonder. The whole room is filled with ice crystals and water flowing around the walls. In the center sits a Goddess, humming to herself and idly brushing her long wavy hair.

"Good morning Lady Nayru!" The princes chirps.

"And a fine morning to you as well my pet." Replies the Goddess of Water. She turns on her seat and is about to rise before pausing and giving a little laugh. "My my, someone forgot their hair this day."

"I didn't forget!" The princess pouts. "I wanted you to do it for me!"

A sparkling laugh fills the room, echoing slightly off the water. "All you have to do is ask my pet." The princess climbs into Nayru's lap, cuddling against her cool body heat with a happy hum.

"Let's see…" Nayru switches to a smaller brush and begins to take care of the princess's hair. "What do we have to do today…"

"We have a meeting with the cabinet… and that's it!" The princess laughs. She never had much to do. She was so young after all. So she let Lady Nayru handle everything else. She's really old so she must know lots of stuff about ruling.

"I do have some time before my duties begin." Nayru starts, stroking the side of the princess's face. "Shall we head down to Hyrule Palace Town together?"

"Yes!" The princess jumps up in happiness before getting caught on the brush and painfully sliding down back into the Goddess's lap. Nayru chuckled at the sight. "A-and can we see that funny farmer that came here last week."

"We can't, my pet. He was sent to Kakariko."

The princess groans. "Darn… can we see his daughter then? She was nice."

"Sent to Kakariko as well." The princess has never left the Palace limits, so any knowledge of the outside world came from Lady Nayru. Apparently there was a frozen lake and a boiling hot river and a dormant volcano and at the bottom of that is Kakariko. She has no idea what it looks like but it must be really big to fit all the people that go there.

"Fine…" The princess sighs in a defeated way. "Just to Palace Town then."

"As you wish, my pet." The braiding takes a minute but it is soon done and the pair make their way out of the castle and into the connected town. It was here that Lady Nayru's water took full control, with water running down the walkways, more ice crystals covering the stalls of various merchants. and a big almost bubble like canopy covering the sky so no one could look in to the beautiful town. The population was small, about thirty people, but every time the princess came down here it was perfectly cheerful. There was even a man playing the phonograph with such a happy face every day!

The princess runs over to the first stall she sees. It's good manners to browse as many stores as possible so their sales get a boost from her presence. Or that's what Lady Nayru told her. Besides, the man running the store is pretty round, so his food must be tasty.

"How much for this one?" The princess points to some sort of pastry. Maybe it's one of those "cupcakes" Lady Farore mentioned.

"That would be thirty five rupees Princess Zeld-" While the rest of the town is unaffected by this slip, the princess notices that the water seems to move a lot slower now. A pair of hands settle on her shoulder and Lady Nayru's sweet voice floats forth.

"What silly people live here." The Goddess holds a smile that seems ever so slightly off. "They got your name wrong, didn't they my pet?" A long silence preludes a soft sigh from the princess.

"Yes they did Lady Nayru."

The goddess eyes up the now hysterically crying merchant. "Perhaps some time in Kakariko will fix that, hm?" A loud wail seems to finally dull the attempts at normalcy as the other town goers watch the spectacle.

"I agree. Please, make it so."

"As you wish Your Highness." Water encases the man as he's pulled away from the square. Nayru looks around at the quiet people with a sharp eye before the noise and music starts up again.

"Now then." The goddess straightens herself out. "Are you feeling hungry my dear? I believe an owl was caught yesterday and should be perfect for a filling meal."

"Oh yes Lady Nayru. I would very much enjoy that. Please take us back home posthaste." The water gathers under their feet and lifts them high off the ground. The princess looks down on the busy town as her hair is lovingly petted.

"As you wish, Princess Hylia."

* * *

Saria stepped out of her tree with a sense of bravery unseen with the rest of her people. After the Great Deku Tree had been uprooted last year none of the Kokiri wanted to patrol the forest but it was a job that needed to be done. After she checked up on everyone, there was only one place left to go. She walked out to the Lost Woods, although the woods itself held no purpose. All the creatures there had long since left after the attack and weren't likely to Skull Kids said that "Termina was safer", whatever that meant. But on the plus side, it made getting to her special place easier.

Everyone here had a home. That is, every _Kokiri_ had a home. There was one that couldn't stay in one place too long. Every day he would be moved far from the others. There was talk of simply abandoning him to his fate but Saria couldn't let that happen. He was still so young after all and there was some sort of… bond between them? She couldn't explain it. It's like they were supposed to meet and help each other. Her mind is torn away from her inner musing by a yawn in the clearing ahead. Despite the circumstances she couldn't help laughing to herself.

"Sleeping in again Link?"

The boy yawned again and shuddered on his spot on the stump. Link's eyes were heavy and slightly bloodshot. Saria winced at the poor sight.

"Nightmares again?" The boy responds with a short nod. Saria couldn't help noticing that his supply of food and water were barely touched. The Kokiri sighs.

"I know things are hard but you really need to take care of yourself first." The boy was too tired to even argue today it seems. He slumps over to the pile of nuts and water sack and begins nibbling away. Saria took his place on the stump and after making sure that he was actually eating this time, pulls out her ocarina. Might as well make this heavy atmosphere nicer.

A few notes flow out and Link is already swaying with the familiar tune. It was her song after all, the one she's played ever since he came to the forest as a baby. His ears twitch happily and an occasional hum comes out between bites. Saria for one is glad that she could help any way she can. Even in such a still place their hearts could be warm…

Wait a moment. Still? Saria looks over to the grass as she holds a note. The grass was completely still just like before the Great Deku Tree…

Saria stows the instrument away with a jump and grabs Link's arm. "We have to go Link! Now!"

Her feet easily carry them out into the maze. It takes some doing to pull Link up the ladder, let alone jump across the bush tops but he barely makes it. Saria looks down into the glowing hole below. A fall down there will hurt but it's far better than staying up above.

"Link, you'll be safe here, I promise!" She pulls the confused boy close into a rare hug. "Promise me no matter what you hear, you won't come out, okay?"

Link's eyes focus for a moment as the seriousness of these actions sink into his mind. He gives a short nod before hopping down into the hole. But she can't just leave it at that. Link needs to be reassured, he's just a kid after all!

"I won't ever let her take you Li-" The air is knocked out of Saria as the air itself pulls her back to the temple. The Goddess of Winds has arrived.

* * *

The sun glared down up Gerudo Valley as usual. The remaining lackeys stayed on patrol while the higher up Gerudo stayed in their positions, per their orders. All should have been calm but there was a sense of anxiety about. Their king had some business to do with the Royal Family. What exactly, they didn't know but just that small portion of information was enough to set off more than a few alarms. Adding in that the King took their fastest horse for a short ride over to the palace and many of the thieves had taken off for the Spirit Temple before they lost their chance. Only the most loyal of them remained.

Hooves thunder across the wooden bridge as Ganondorf charges into his home on his steed. The plan was a failure. Completely and utterly backfired in his face. The only grace was that They were too occupied to watch his attempts at diplomacy, otherwise known as his weakest talent. His mood only worsens as he notices that the village made of stone was almost empty. He snarls as he steers his beast over to the closest Gerudo.

"The p-proposal went well then?" Her voice gives way to the fear she holds inside. The King stayed quiet as he dismounted and followed her inside the training grounds. It was only once out of the sun completely did he reply.

"They took offense to the gesture." Ganondorf lowers his head. Why did they take to the idea so poorly? It was a common request for royalty after all. Was there something more to the Hidden Princess?

While Ganondorf stewed in his most recent failure, more hoof beats can be heard against the solid ground heading to the far off Temple. No doubt the others heard of this news or just assumed the worst. He faces his last subordinate with a heavy look.

"Please remain here." Were this a few months ago, that request would have been a command. If that woman hadn't raised her tongue in the presence of the guards then maybe the King would have stood proud. But she did and he doesn't.

"I-I'm sorry Your Highness…" The last Gerudo dashes out of the door, taking Ganondorf's horse and the last bit of pride he had with her. The King stands alone in his excuse of a kingdom.

The candles on the walls flare up.

It's not supposed to be this hot underground.

The King stumbles to his feet as the heat takes hold of his body, rubbing his forehead as it throbs painfully.

Is the stone melting?

The metal is _melting?_

_H-his face is…_

He would rather take a _thousand_ summer suns instead of this _**just make it sto**_

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The whole valley was set ablaze that day. The Great Fire Storm lasted six hours. It is said that it could be seen as far as Death Mountain's peak even in the later hours of the evening. A festival was arranged the following week to celebrate the birth of the newly formed Glass Valley.

It is said that there's still the remains of some buildings deep in the valley. And within those buildings there lies some great treasure. They also say it smells of smoked ham. But who really knows? Gossip can be very misleading. It's best not to go there anyway.

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This little fic started off with a simple idea. "What if the Golden Goddesses turned evil?" I hope you've enjoyed the start of a wonderful tale.


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